During the week of March 10th, the Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at increasing medical students from Iowa at the University of Iowa.

District 23 Representative Ray Sorensen says that the bill would require the University of Iowa to have 80 percent of their medical students have ties to Iowa. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio why they want to do this.

“A lot of studies show that doctors are more likely to practice where they have personal ties, so this could really help address our physician shortage. Plus it gives Iowa kids a better shot at getting into med(ical) school, which is a win for local families.”

Sorensen mentions that he does see where there would be some pushback from opposition to the bill, as it could limit diversity in the school or make it harder to attract top tier talent from out of state. He adds that despite these arguments, he believes that the benefit to Iowans outweighs the risks.